I like signs I do. I always remember going to Universal studios where they had a street that was used numerous times to film different cities across the world and all they did to achieve this was to change the signs.

Monday, December 02, 2013

I was going to make a print out of a load of bums, bottoms, fannys, whatever you want to call them and realised I hadn't posted on the blog for the last few days. It's hard keeping up to all this social media, web site and blog. I NEED TIME TO CREATE! (said really loud and with an echo). As much as I would like to pay someone to look after the social media side of things I don't fancy it becoming too scripted and boring, I want to keep it real and random, like this art print of some bums.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Here we have five examples of contemporary art by Daniel Arsham. Today I am loving art using just white and this is why the following sculptures made an impact with me. Apart from liking Arsham's use of white one or two of his art works made me chuckle which is always a bonus in my books. The art also incorporates the use of the surrounding wall and by applying this method it makes the art appear visibly larger. The meaning behind them? I don't know, I love looking at them and they made me laugh and that is all that matters to me today.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

I'm bored of looking at the so called "great artists" of our time so I'm looking further afield and looking for some new and unusual art and I found some with art work by Alicia Martin Lopez. Not sure if they are paintings or illustrations but I like the creepy feel they give me when I look at them. This top example reminds me of a still from a PlayStation game I used to play called "Abe". Abe was the character from the game and walked around a surreal looking planet full of weird and creepy creatures. The green atmosphere that envelopes the creature adds to the abnormal world the artist has created and adds to the inquisitive feeling her work gives me of wanting to know more, who, where, what are they and why do they they appear to be breaking up?

Both these artworks are fascinating as they are pulled from the imagination and they take you into the fantasy world of the artist. Observing this fantasy world makes me feel uneasy, but why should it? It's only because I am looking at what is not the "norm" and so creates an apprehensive feeling towards both these creations, for all I know they could be the most friendliest of individuals.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Looking at two paintings by Jack Beal today, having never heard of the painter before or seen his work I have chosen this top painting as I like the colours and shadows on the woman's body and the green blanket laid next to her. The woman and the blanket look very realistic whilst the rest of the painting look like its a bit all over the place and skewiff, it's almost like there is two separate styles of painting in one. Maybe he is just really good at painting realistic bodies but objects to scale and at correct angles maybe not so much. The belly button appears to be missing as it looks a little odd around the stomach area. The room might be his studio as there seems to be a few different props lying around, it seems a bit cluttered so its either small or he just can't be bothered to move anything to tidy it up. I would have preferred not to have either of the chairs in painting or the plant hanging down as they give me the feeling of wanting to move them out of the way.

This second painting has some brilliant shadows painted into it. I am thinking it is the same small studio as the previous painting as its still untidy and is starting to resemble a second hand shop with the mismatched furniture scattered everywhere. The model is partly hidden behind some furniture and he probably had every intention of painting her in full view and from a different view point but I get the feeling he is dictated to by the shadows. If the shadows look and fall right over the subjects at that particular moment and angle, then that is when and where he paints.

Monday, November 25, 2013

All Pile On! I just stumbled across this photo by Zhang Huan on the internet and it reminded me of when you were at school and you played a game called "All Pile On". The game or odd way to pass the time, was about getting as many people piling on top of one another before the people at the bottom couldn't take any more. So this "To Add a Meter To an Anonymous Mountai" photograph is a bit like a naked version of this school game.

Writing for a blog is taxing on my brain cells. I have got two Jean Michel Basquiat paintings to chat about tonight. This first painting is like a large, painted, brain storming session of the ideas he came up with when thinking about "Hollywood Africans". The words that are crossed out remind me of something you see scratched on the wall by a child who is angry or confused about something on his mind. The word "gangsterism" sits at the bottom and is painted onto black to maybe signify the negative aspect of the thug like behaviour. Maybe "Hollywood Africans" is the name of a gangster gang Basquiat is painting about? The whole painting just reminds me of a whole load of ideas thrown onto a canvas, it's a colourful mood board for Hollywood Africans.

I like this painting, it is very childlike and even has child like writing scrawled along the top left which is un-intelligible. The colours are earthy and warm and make up the whole of the painting. The head, hair and face are made up of sporadic compartments of colours and lines, which seems to make it more representational of being a tribal mask rather than a painting of someone's actual face.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

It's getting to that time of day where I just want to switch the computer off and sod it but I said to myself I should put a post up on the blog everyday, so this is it. OK lets give Will Barnet a look at. This top painting or illustration (i'm not quite sure) is made up of blocks of colour and has very little detail. It is of a woman laid in bed with a cat snuggled up on her midriff. The woman looks like she has been disturbed whilst she's been reading as she has lifted the book up in the air to get a better view of whatever it is that has disrupted her bedtime reading. The woman looks neither sad nor happy and if anything the cat looks more upset about the disturbance. Maybe the woman is Barnet's wife? Maybe, he just came home one night and sat at the end of the bed and started creating this art work, as she does seem to be pulling an "oh, not me again" face.

This
black and white illustration or painting is of a gathering of women stood on
the end of a pier above what appears to be water. All of the women are chatting
to each other in groups and to differentiate the bodies Barnet has used
varying shades of grey and even put an ever so slight bit of detail in their
clothing. The long shawls, conservative hem lines along with their conventional
hair style tells me the women are from the Victorian era. The lack of colour
brings about a morbid feel to this artwork and this gives me the impression
they have all either been to a funeral in their dark attire or maybe that's
their everyday work wear and they're all taking a break in the fresh air from
the laborious daily grind. There are no men in this artwork, which reiterates
that this artwork is illustrating life from the Victorian era, as it was a time
when men and women took breaks from work separately. I get the feeling that
Barnet wasn't physically present at this gathering either, as the women are faceless
which gives off a dreamlike appearance. Or, maybe he even just created it from
a memory of a photo or from a detailed recollection from an acquaintance.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Ooooo Francis Bacon day. My first ever recollection of a "Francis Bacon" was seeing his work in the Tate Gallery in Liverpool. I was stood looking at one of his paintings from a distance and a snotty woman came flouncing in and took one look at the painting and winced at her gallery buddy and shook her head, on closer inspection she read out in a surprised voice "Francis Bacon", her expression changed into a face of admiration and approval, it was then I realised that even in the art world people can also be fickle enough to pretend to like something simply because of the name.

Moving onto the first painting by Francis Bacon, this painting looks like there is a burst water pipe and the red arrow is pointing out the point of origin. There appears to be part of a newspaper strewn on the floor that looks like litter so maybe this is suggesting it is outside somewhere. Behind the blast of water looks like it could be a turnstile of some sort. The blue at the top of the painting is like that of a clear sunny day along with the black underneath that could be there to represent the shadows. The floor looks like a sandy colour so it could be a path leading to a beach? The whole painting doesn't seem to make much sense to me and it could even be a painting that was meant to be something else and realising his error, 'Bacon' painted madly across the middle, walked away, only to return to the painting and notice in his madness it now looks like water bursting from from some kind of hole in the ground or pipe.

This second painting is a portrait of someone painted in 'Bacons's' famous and very recognisable style. It looks to be a man in a dark room who is wearing a dark suit. The way the face is painted reminds me of looking at someone through some sort of kaleidoscope or a window which is distorted like the glass ones used in bathrooms. If you stand away from the painting you can get a better idea of what the person actually looks like as there isn't much detail available. Although the persons face is distorted the mind seems to be able to piece together the right hand side of the face as the left appears to be in darkness. The way the face is painted looks like the paint has been slowly pushed around and left in random places using curves and swirls, is this to show movement or is it just his style?

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Back on with describing what I see in various art and photography for the blog. As well as giving me some inspiration I'm hoping it will help me describe my wall art too. Below are two paintings by Frank Auerbach, I have seen some of his paintings before but have no idea about his intentions behind the paintings.

The painting below at first reminded me of what you would be able to see through an abstract steamed up window looking out onto some fields/meadow with a clear blue sky and a tractor which makes up the scattered red. Now I have looked at it for slightly longer I can see it could be some marsh land and broken up bushes where someone has waded through. Maybe Frank Auerbach just had some left over colours from other paintings and got rid of them all using mad, sporadic painting strokes or he could have started to paint a field and it all turned out wrong and thought "hey, I like it" and put it out there as a work of art anyway.

Now this painting below by Frank Auerbach I like. I love the earthy colours and the fact that there isn't much detail in the painting, its left up to you what this woman looks like. The woman is maybe sat in front of a fire with her arms crossed in that comforting hugging yourself position and resting her head with her eyes closed. Its an oil painting and its thickly applied so it looks like you could scoop it off, its almost like a sculpture on a canvas it is that textured.

Monday, November 18, 2013

SunriseI find it a little bit difficult to describe my wall art as I just tend to see something that catches my eye and then I take a photo of it, but I know at the back, left or right side of my mind there will be a meaning or explanation to why I find it appealing. This wall art is called "Sunrise" as the warm red, yellow and orange colours remind me of an early morning summer sunrise. Even though the wall art is printed onto canvas and is flat, the abstract rust marks give off a visual textured feel to the artwork. I find the random markings of a weathered piece of metal appealing because you will never find another like it, it's simply unique.

StylesMost of the wall art on my web site is available as a landscape, square or triptych for you to choose from, I like to give the customers that choice as the art is suited to each one of them styles. StatementThis wall art has a warm feel about it, but bold enough to make a subtle, yet striking statement in any modern home.What do you see/feel when you look at this artwork?

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Having not read anything about Eduardo Arroyo before I am going to take a guess that this first example of his work is a graphic illustration and not a painting. Red, yellow, black and white are my favourite colours so I was instantly drawn to this artwork. The top figure appears to be of a skeleton and the bottom figure is that of a woman. Both of the figures are holding a camera with the skeleton appearing to hold a much larger and older camera than the female figure. Both are taking photos, but what are they taking photographs of? Each other? Why do we take photographs? It is a way of recording an event, we are taking a snapshot and creating a visual diary of our lives so we may reminisce at a later date. Visualising memories outside of our head echoes our existence. I am not entirely sure of the meaning behind this illustration and it doesn't speak to me on any level. It reminds me of an unfinished illustration for a book,film or play. The only message that does come across is that of how the artist himself sees life and death, just a collection of photographic memories.

This second image appears to be a painting showing two figures.To the left is a figure of a matador, which is a Spanish bull fighter, and the figure on the right appears to be the outline of some human internal organs. A representation of the Spanish flag is shown at the top of the painting in the form of a red and yellow stripe. In Spain the matador is highly regarded and are depicted as very courageous and powerful, maybe the internal organs are to prove how brave he is by showing that this matador has his inner strength on the surface with no physical protection. Again, as in the first image I am not totally sure what is going on in this painting, I thought I would be able to express what the was idea behind the painting or at least convey what it means to me, but I am drawing a blank. Maybe I should research the artist a little before I embark on the next post? Or maybe it is just that this artists work just doesn't convey anything to me? It could be just one of them days where my mind just draws a blank and refuses to work, like writers block but more of a thinking block. Better luck tomorrow.

Friday, August 23, 2013

The photo of the day is by Richard Billingham and is yet another black and white photograph. I chose this photograph as I was instantly drawn to the man's heartily laugh and his disregard of having his photograph taken without his false teeth in. I am nosey and I want to know why he is laughing and I want to join in on his fun.

The photo uncovers a simplistic way of life reiterating to me that happiness should come from within and not from the non essential trappings of the materialistic world. Full of character this man has had years of laughter and these years have been the building blocks of his friendly personality. This man has no airs or graces and what you see is what you get, he has a raw truth about him that you only tend to see in a child, which unfortunately tends to get lost in the journey into adulthood. His surroundings are basic and are placed in a disorganised fashion with a make shift bedroom unit, but he's happy and has no regrets, he's seen it all as far as he's concerned.

Karin Mamma Anderson and her paintings are the ones I have chosen to look at today. Previously when I observed modern paintings of everyday objects I would think, why would anyone be interested in painting something so ordinary, what does it offer the viewer, what is the intention of the painter? But as I once learnt from an exhibition of old photographs of children playing which was running alongside recently taken photographs of children also playing. I came to understand the concept and I found that I appreciated the old photos of children and seeing them happily playing with spinning tops as this wasn't something I had witnessed so found them interesting and in years to come the recently taken photos of children playing out on their bikes would also be appreciated like I did of the old. This was like an epiphany for me, so now I feel I have a better understanding of modern artists who's subject could be seen as customary.

Back to the painting of the TV's. The TV's are on a very basic looking stand so I am thinking this scene is from a school or college where the painter attended or worked and the double TV is recording programmes for the pupils to watch later. Showing on both TV's are scenes with what appears to be snow, so maybe they are showing sporting events and these winter sports are very popular with pupils from this school or nationally recognised as sports the country itself excels in.

I do like the colours or should I say the lack of colours and the simplicity of this painting, it is what it is, a painting of two TV's and two recording devices off centre in front of some long grey curtains. This could be a lowly lit storage room as no visible features can be seen on any of the electronic devices. In the future the younger generation will be astonished and laugh at having to have two TV's to record two programmes that are broadcast simultaneously, just like I was amused by the children who entertained themselves with a large hoop and a stick rather than a bike or a games console.

Moving onto the second painting by Karin Mamma Anderson I am thinking this is a classroom that has been wrecked by some persons breaking an entry or this school/college has some disobedient pupils. From what I can see the material of the blue seat to the right of the painting is torn, paintings have been strewn across the room showing a disrespect for the work of others or in fact their own, some of the chairs have been tipped over and one of the tables is turned upside down. Is this an actual scene or does it represent how Ms Anderson feels about the pupils in her art class? Is it showing they have no appreciation of art and are disrespectful towards their schooling by leaving the class room in an orderless fashion.

Being a relatively tidy person looking at this painting makes me want to tidy the mess up and if I owned this painting it would make me feel like this every time I looked at it. But if every piece of art we laid our eyes on was pleasurable, viewing art would soon become a mundane experience and I think we should always try and extend our outlook beyond what we feel comfortable with, as that is how we learn and grow as individuals.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

This photograph shows how creative children could be when they were left to create their own entertainment. A bit of rope and some wood provided endless hours of fun whilst the family pet stood guard and became their chaperone. It shows a time before all political correctness came into being as these children see no danger playing next to train lines, they just want to swing as high as they can.

Today I am looking at two Lennart Anderson paintings and describing what I see. I have no idea what these two painting are about as I am learning the art of seeing and describing what I see rather than what a text book tells me to see.

The first painting is of a busy street in a city and the scene is of mainly men of varying ages. There are a number of children in the painting without school uniform or bags which suggests it is a weekend. No street or shop signs are visible to identify which city this could be and the buildings in the background are lifeless and dull with a small glimpse of the sky alongside a residential area which would mean this area is on the outskirts of a city.

There appears to be a woman who is smartly dressed on her knees with her hand partly over her mouth in shock. Has this lady fallen or has someone else fallen in front of this lady as the unidentifiable object in front of the lady suggests?

The passers by are frozen in time, will anyone help the woman in distress or will they simply walk on by? If this is a street scene the painter experienced why not show the woman being helped by someone? Is the painter leaving the results of the experience down to the viewer? Are we all simply too busy to care about someone else's misfortune?

The second painting is of a street scene in a city with a mixture of men and women of different ages. A wheel lays on the road from a kart which was being pulled by a child who has now fallen over from pulling the kart up onto the pavement. The child is being attended to by a woman sat down on the pavement. One of the women from the group on the left is slowly bending down with an outstretched arm as if to offer a helping hand.

To the right of the painting the men are briskly walking whilst catching a glimpse of the scene before carrying on. The small girl bursting out from the doors with a shocked look on her face could live there and the small child who has fallen is a relative of hers and is also coming to their aid. Maybe this painting is just a street scene and the painter has captured a moment in time with no hidden meaning or as with the first painting it could be a reflection of what happens in society when someone takes an unfortunate tumble.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

I like this photograph as I can hear the sound of the man's footsteps echoing around the street alongside the fading sound of the truck driving off into the distance. The man has a peaceful walk to work with only the sound of his shoes walking against the cobbled street for company.

Today I am looking at two paintings from an artist called Josep Alberti, not sure where he's from or anything about the subject in his paintings as I want to share with you what I see and not be influenced by anything I have read about him or his art.

This first painting is of a kitchen that is run down as the plaster/paint on the wall is falling off. The unevenness of the colour suggests that it hasn't been painted for a number of years as it has faded over time. There are no windows in the kitchen which suggests there wouldn't be much of a view outside and that the building is a basic shell that somebody calls home.

Although the kitchen is in need of a coat of paint the cooker and cooking area is made from colourful tiles which shows the importance of food in this house and that a woman lives here. A sweeping brush and cleaning cloth can also be seen to the right of the painting showing how important it is to be clean. Whoever lived here saw the importance of food and cleanliness over an aesthetically pleasing kitchen. In fact, they probably didn't see the plaster falling from the walls as the cooker would've been the focal point and the heart of the home for them and it is where they would've created the most wonderful meals for her husband or family.

This second painting of an old woman who has been painted in cold blue which suggests the painter wanted her to come across as a hard woman who had been hardened by life events. Alternatively, the colours could represent her living in cold conditions as she is after all wearing a shawl on top of her clothes. The lady is poor and she would have got some kind of pleasure from living in slight discomfort as it made her feel like a martyr, a feeling that she had become accustomed to by being a good wife and mother.

The woman is not smiling as she is lonely and no longer needed by anyone in her world, her children have grown up and her husband is no longer with her. She dresses for comfort and warmth rather than to make herself feel good or to make herself presentable to the opposite sex as she no longer feels attractive. Her hair is swept back in a nondescript hair style and shows her full face as it tells her life story and she is proud of that. Her face shows the story of her whole life for all to see.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Today I am looking at some of the paintings by the painter Gilles Aillaud. I will look at the paintings from my point of view and not be influenced by what is said of his work on the internet. Below is a brief description of the story both paintings show.

Painting 1The first painting shows two men who look like they could be brothers as they have similar coloured hair and pastel shirts on. They are beating up a washed up looking man who looks like he has no strength to fight back, maybe because they have held him prisoner for a number of days as to obtain information from him. The man in the background is wearing shades to either hide his disguise, look cool or hide his joy from watching somebody get beaten up. He doesn't need to get involved as he must be the boss. It is dark outside or the window is blacked out as what happens in that room is not meant to be seen from the outside. The window is also high up on the wall which suggests it could be in some kind of basement. I feel like I am now writing about a scene from CSI rather than a painting.

Painting 2

This second painting is of a man who is going to deliver someone a message as he isn't carrying anything so he is not on his way home from work with his briefcase or a newspaper. He is looking down so he is watching his step as he is not familiar to the stairs and therefore doesn't live there. The apartments are in a decent part of the neighbourhood as the walls on the stairs don't have any graffiti on them so the main entrance is likely to be locked. There are no paintings or plants in view and the stairs and walls are bland so it shows they are inside a stairway leading to an apartment rather than inside someone's home. What do you see?